The Los Angeles Lakers are navigating a rocky stretch of form, highlighted by Tuesday night’s lopsided 128-106 defeat to the Detroit Pistons, marking yet another double-digit loss.
The string of heavy defeats this season has intensified outside criticism, with the Lakers now sitting 20-11. While injuries and lineup instability have contributed to inconsistent performances, many of the team’s struggles have been self-inflicted, with turnovers and defensive lapses recurring as key issues.
Accountability and adaptation remain central themes for head coach JJ Redick and his players, but the Lakers’ form continues to falter, having lost four of their last five games. Redick has warned that these struggles may persist for some time.
Lakers Still Searching for Their Identity
Redick cautioned that challenges may not ease soon, especially as questions about the team’s identity and style of play grow.
After the Pistons loss, Redick acknowledged that the Lakers are still working to establish a clear team identity, with persistent defensive and physicality issues highlighted by being outscored 74-44 in the paint against Detroit.
“Still trying to figure that out,” Redick said in the postgame press conference. “The flow of lineups and rotations and all that has been challenging for everybody, not just the coaches. It’s just a challenge for the players, and building an identity is difficult. If you think about our team last year, this team is different, and our identity will eventually be different, but we didn’t get that identity till late January, it felt like. And then we had to shift again. So, I don’t think it’s unnatural.”
“I remember a meeting I had with Phil [Jackson] last year, pretty early in the season, and he said, ‘I always felt like I knew who my team was by Thanksgiving.’ I think that’s hard to figure out with this team right now.”
This season, Redick has repeatedly emphasized that many of the Lakers’ struggles are self-inflicted, a point he continues to stress. Despite strong performances from stars like Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves, the team has struggled to maintain consistency.
Injuries and Lineup Instability Complicate Matters
A major obstacle for the Lakers has been injuries to key contributors, which have disrupted rotations and prevented the team from finding rhythm. Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, and rookie Adou Thiero have all missed time, forcing constant adjustments to lineups and minutes.
These absences have compounded the issues with turnovers and defensive coordination, making cohesion difficult to establish.
The Lakers’ defensive woes are particularly pronounced statistically. They currently rank 25th in defensive rating at 117.8, a sharp contrast to their top-10 offensive ranking.
Over the past 15 games, the defensive decline has been even more stark, with Los Angeles posting the second-worst defensive rating in the league at 122.6, ahead of only the Utah Jazz.
Redick has been candid about these shortcomings, stressing the need for accountability while acknowledging the broader challenges of lineup fluctuations.
With limited positive flashes and injuries continuing to play a major role, Redick is claiming that the Lakers may need time to establish a stable identity. His message to players, fans, and analysts is that this is a team in transition, and short-term results may not reflect their long-term potential.
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